The present invention relates to sports footwear provided with an adjustable rear spoiler. In particular, the present invention relates to a ski boot equipped with an adjustable rear spoiler.
Ski boots are well-known and widely spread. In general, said ski boots comprise an inner shoe made of a substantially soft and flexible material and an outer shell made of a substantially rigid material.
The outer shell typically comprises a plurality of elements articulated to each other, including in particular a cuff, intended to surround and wrap the user's ankle and the lower part of the user's calf and articulated to the lower portion of the shell accommodating the user's foot. The outer shell of the ski boot is usually provided with a plurality of fastening elements, such as hooks, buckles or the like, which allow to close the shell on the user's foot and which can assume a plurality of different positions, so that the user can adjust said fastening elements according to his/her own morphology, so as to obtain the maximum possible comfort.
However, considering the differences in the morphology of the different users, the possibility to adjust the fastening elements is often insufficient for adapting the ski boot to the morphology of each single user. More particularly, for the same size of boot there may be users having very thin calves or, vice versa, users having more voluminous calves. In this case, the possibility to adjust the fastening elements provided on the cuff of the ski boot among a plurality of different positions may not be sufficient to ensure the desired comfort to the user. In other words, users with very thin calves may feel not sufficiently supported and at ease even when the fastening elements provided on the cuff are in their most tightened position or—vice versa—users with very voluminous calves may feel constrained and uncomfortable even when the fastening elements provided on the cuff are in their most loosened position.
In order to overcome this drawback, ski boots have been made provided with a so-called “spoiler”—that is, a separate rear plate provided at the rear portion of the cuff of the ski boot shell—and, thanks to the presence of the spoiler, a further possibility of adjustment of the degree of closure of the ski boot at the calves of the user has been introduced.
Also, with reference to FIG. 1, which shows an example of a ski boot provided with a spoiler of the known type, a ski boot 100 generally comprises a substantially rigid outer shell 110 formed from a plurality of mutually articulated elements, including a cuff 120 intended to surround and wrap the user's ankle and the lower part of the user's calf. For better adapting the cuff 120 to the morphology of the user, and specifically to the morphology of his/her calves, it is possible to provide a spoiler 130, arranged at the rear portion of the cuff 120, in a substantially central position, between respective side elements 120a, 120b of the cuff itself.
The spoiler 130 is connected to the side elements 120a, 120b of the cuff 120 through connecting elements 132a, 132b, which can be adjusted so as to approach/move away the respective side element 120a, 120b with respect to the middle longitudinal line M of the cuff itself, approaching the side elements 120a, 120b to each other or moving them away from each other.
It is evident that approaching the side elements 120a, 120b of the cuff 120 to each other makes it possible to reduce the space inside the cuff itself (adapting it to users with very thin calves), while moving the side elements 120a, 120b of the cuff 120 away from each other makes it possible to increase the space inside the cuff itself (adapting it to users with very voluminous calves).
However, the solution described above and shown in FIG. 1, although it provides for a further possibility of adjustment of the ski boot at the user's calf, is not free from drawbacks. First of all, in order to adjust the position of the side elements of the cuff of the ski boot it is necessary to act separately on two different connecting elements—one for each side—which makes the adjustment operation complex. This disadvantage can be seriously felt, for instance, in stores of renting of sports equipment in ski resorts, where—especially during the high season—the speed with which customers are served is essential.
Furthermore, having two different connecting elements that can be adjusted independently from each other, can lead to an incorrect adjustment and, in particular, to a non-symmetrical adjustment of the cuff with respect to the ankle and calf of the user, which may be disturbing during the use of the ski boot.
Although it has been hitherto made reference to the particular case of ski boots, the above-described drawbacks can also occur in the case of other types of sports footwear having a substantially rigid shell comprising a cuff that surrounds and wraps the user's ankle and the lower part of the user's calf, such as in-line roller skates.